Finally got initial sleep study result need help deciphering

[proudaunt]

Initial sleep study was on February 23rd and I finally got the results of it yesterday, April 8th. My appointment with the sleep study doctore isn't until next week, but my DME graciously gave me a copy of it so I would know what was going on. I'm still pretty new to all of this, so I don't completely understand everything. Highlights of the report are below, with any questions on each item I have following each item. Here goes....

Total sleep time (TST): 305.5 minutes, resulting in a mildly reduced sleep efficiency of 76.4% (What do they mean by "sleep efficiency"?)

Latency to sleep onset was midly prolonged at 47 minutes. Recorded wake time after sleep onset was moderately increased at 47.5 minutes. There was no stage R recorded. (What is Stage R sleep? What do they mean by "recorded wake time after sleep onset was moderately increased at 47.5 minutes"?)

Percent of TST: Stage N1 was 8.5%, Stage N2 was 70.2% (increased), Stage N3 was 21.3%. (I don't understand any of this)

There was a total of 621 arousals recorded (I guess I've been single too long, LOL) resulting in an Arousal Index (ArI) of 122/hr, c/w very severe sleep fragmentation. IN addition a total of 12 awakenings were recorded. (No wonder I was always so tired.)

The patient demonstrated a total of 399 events, 392 of which were Obstructive with the remaining 7 of a Central character. (399 in just 305.5 minutes??? Is this pretty typical for OSA?)

The Obstructive Respiratory Disturbance Index was 77/hr with the respective Obstructive Apnea-Hypopnes Index being 47.1/hr. The overall Apnea-Hypopnes Index was 48.5/hr. (Is this also pretty typical for OSA?)

There were 238 significan oxygen desaturations generating a desaturation index of 47.1/hr. The nadir SO2 was 63%.

If anyone can give any guidance to any of this, it would be much appreciated. Thanks! You guys and gals are great.

[TSSleepy]

What do they mean by "sleep efficiency"?

Ratio of sleep per time in bed (in other words, you only slept 76% of the time you were in bed).

What is Stage R sleep?

I assume they mean REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. You never made it to REM sleep.

What do they mean by "recorded wake time after sleep onset was moderately increased at 47.5 minutes"?

Sleep onset latency is the time it takes to fall asleep, once the lights go out.

Percent of TST: Stage N1 was 8.5%, Stage N2 was 70.2% (increased), Stage N3 was 21.3%. (I don't understand any of this)

These are the % of time you spent in non-rem stage1, 2, and 3/4 (they've started referring to 3 and 4 as just one stage). Those %'s add up to 100%, and there was no REM sleep.

There was a total of 621 arousals recorded (I guess I've been single too long, LOL) resulting in an Arousal Index (ArI) of 122/hr, c/w very severe sleep fragmentation. IN addition a total of 12 awakenings were recorded. (No wonder I was always so tired.)

Seriously! I'm tired just reading it!

The patient demonstrated a total of 399 events, 392 of which were Obstructive with the remaining 7 of a Central character. (399 in just 305.5 minutes??? Is this pretty typical for OSA?)

That's severe. The good news is that it seems to be almost all obstructive, which seems much easier to treat than central apneas.

The Obstructive Respiratory Disturbance Index was 77/hr with the respective Obstructive Apnea-Hypopnes Index being 47.1/hr. The overall Apnea-Hypopnes Index was 48.5/hr. (Is this also pretty typical for OSA?)

An AHI (apnea-hypopnea index) of 47 is severe obstructive sleep apnea...welcome to the club!

There were 238 significan oxygen desaturations generating a desaturation index of 47.1/hr. The nadir SO2 was 63%.

Your lowest oxygen saturation went to 63%. I believe hospitals put you on oxygen when you fall below 90%. You're probably going to feel soooo much better when you get this fixed and spend some time recovering!

So, the good news: you definitely have severe obstructive sleep apnea. It not only messes up your sleep, but suffocates you, and jacks up your stress responses (blood pressure). This is good news, because CPAP should help you feel much better.

Of course, "taming the mask" can take some time. But we'll help!

[Schnauzer]

TSSleepy - Thanks for the explaination. I have been writting notes all over my Sleep Report looking for just those answers. I got as far as AHI=23.1

[proudaunt]

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my questions, TSSleepy. Your responses have helped a lot. The good news is I have been on cpap for just over 4 weeks now, and my AHI is down to 3.1 and I have had zero large mask leaks. It's been a very long process, but I'm finally getting used to sleeping with the mask on. I still don't feel completely rested after sleep, but it's definitely better than it was and is slowly but steadily improving. Thanks for the welcome to the club!

[Pulmoanry Nurse]

Well you should absoutely see your Dr. I work for a pulmonologist and I can tell you that you will probably be diagnosed with severe OSA (obstructive sleep apnea). They will probably put you back in the sleep lab for a CPAP titration study.

[junie]

Thanks you helped me out also

[kteague]

With numbers like those, the fact that you are functional at all is a testament to your strength and resolve. Those same attributes will help you master adjusting to this treatment. I look forward to you telling us the difference it has made in a few months.
Kathy

[proudaunt]

Well you should absoutely see your Dr. I work for a pulmonologist and I can tell you that you will probably be diagnosed with severe OSA (obstructive sleep apnea). They will probably put you back in the sleep lab for a CPAP titration study.

Following that sleep study, I was indeed diagnosed with, in their words, "very severe obstructive sleep apnea". The very day they called me with the diagnosis, the sent me to the DME to get a machine and I was sent to the sleep lab that same night for my titration study. I haven't received official results of that titration yet, but the technician at the sleep lab told me I didn't stop breathing, so that was a relief. My cpap at home has been set for auto pressure of 10-20.

This diagnosis has sure explained a lot of what was happening to me lately, especially at work. I was always angry, and I didn't know, nor did I care, why. And that sad part is, I actually wanted to be angry, does that make sense? I had an incident where I wasn't very helpful to a co-worker (I work in out IT department, so interaction with colleagues is a very important aspect of my job). My supervisor had a talk with me about it. I have been at my current place of employment for nearly 22 years and had NEVER needed to be "talked to" about anything. She told me I was "killing" myself with my bad interactions lately, and that I used to be such an easy going person. At the time, I thought it was related to depression, which it probably was. But now I'm thinking it was the OSA probably causing that depression. I've been on anti-depressants since August, and I'm hoping my doctor will be able to take me off of them now. I've kept my supervisor extremely informed of everything that has been going on with my health, and she has been extremely understanding. I'm very fortunate in that regard.

Anyway, it's 2:30 am here in Connecticut, and I should probably put that wonderful cpap machine to good use now. (I just went to insert a yawning smilie here, but was very surprised to see there isn't a yawning one on a sleep disorder forum.)

[TSSleepy]

I was having the same kinds of feelings this winter, before going on CPAP.

Very hard to deal with work. I was soooo tired and cranky. Everything seemed like a huge chore. I had zero patience with my co-workers. People wondered if I was depressed, but now I think I was just physically, mentally, and emotionally raw and exhausted. It took a few weeks, but I'm feeling much better. Hopefully you'll soon start feeling a lot better too, and you can get off the anti-depressants.

The thing you need to remember is that sleeping has probably been a "fight for survival" every night for many, many years. It probably took a very long time to wear you down as far as you got, so it may take a few months to rebuild your strength and re-train your body to sleep peacefully.

I'm two months into treatment and feel much better, but I still wake up 3-4 times per night. It's like my subconscious is still on "high alert" and I habitually wake up every time I leave REM sleep, just to make sure I'm still alive. But I think this will fade with time. It has for others I've talked to, and every couple days I feel a little bit better.